Goodyear in conjunction with lightweight trailer manufacturer Berger has developed new trailer tyres that maximize payloads for fleet operators. With a 10-tonne axle weight capacity and low rolling radius, the Goodyear FUELMAX T 435/50R19.5 HL 164K tyres have been developed to increase weight capacity for tandem axle mega trailers. The other great benefit comes from taking advantage of reduced road tax for operators in countries such as Germany and Switzerland, where four-axle combinations pay less duty than five axle vehicles.
New Goodyear Trailer Tyre Enhances Payload Capacity and Reduces Operating Costs
Compared with a typical five-axle 40-tonne combination using a 27-tonne tri-axle bogie, a fleet operating a four-axle 38-tonne combination featuring a BERGERecotrail trailer with a 20-tonne tandem bogie can save 2,160 Euro per year in German road tax costs alone based on 120,000 km/year on German toll roads.
“For many operators of mega trailers, volume is more important than maximum weight and, where appropriate, the lower tax on four-axle combinations plus their lower fuel and maintenance costs are very attractive. However, with 9-tonne axles, weight capacity was an issue in many cases,” said Armin Lechner – Head of Product Management at Berger Fahrzeugtechnik GesmbH. “The solution was to increase to 10 tonnes axle weight and for this we needed tyres with a 164 5,000 kg load index. The FUELMAX T High Load tire that Goodyear has produced gives us a premium product that delivers exactly what our customers require.”
The High Load Goodyear FUELMAX T 435/50R19.5 HL 164K has been developed in conjunction with Berger Fahrzeugtechnik GesmbH and is the first premium truck tire to be available in this size and load index. Goodyear has a long relationship with the Austrian trailer manufacturer, which will be the first OEM to receive the tyres.
“We first introduced a 10-tonne trailer tire at the 2010 IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover. This was specifically to maximize the load capacity of tandem axle trailers,” said Benjamin Willot, Marketing Director Commercial EMEA, for Goodyear Dunlop. “This was a 22.5” tyre so it was not suitable for mega trailers, which use 19.5” rims. Working with Berger we have developed the new tyre for lightweight tandem axle mega trailers so that operators can take advantage of the benefits of the lighter trailers as well as the lower road taxation in some countries.”
The concept for the new tyre goes back to 2015. This was when operators were starting to see the financial advantage of using a two-axle trailer instead of a three-axle trailer. The main benefit being the cheaper road tax in Germany: where using a four-axle combination is 1.8 cents/km cheaper in tax than a five-axle combination. In addition, the operational costs are lower on a tandem axle trailer versus a tri-axle trailer as there are fewer brakes and less tyres. However, to maximize the payload of a tandem trailer, these operators wanted 10-tonne axles instead of standard 9-tonne axles. This concept was especially appealing for many mega trailer operators as volume is more important to their business than weight.
